Ghosts in The Bone Meadows
by Hattie Laraway
Summary: Mysterious dissaperances, the past, a place where nothing is what it seems and a young River Song; what more could The Doctor possibly want? Contains spoilers for A good man goes to war.  Episode 7 in the 6th series
1. Jolt Jolt Jolt

Hey guys, this is my first fan fic, some of the chapters are quite short so bare with me, just getting to grips with the whole thing! Any reviews would be much appreciated, i will try to publish the chapters as quickly as i can :) be nice!

_Hattie Laraway._

_**DISCLAIMER; i do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters associated with the program.**_

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><p><em>Ghosts <em>**in the bone meadows,**

Chapter one: Jolt, Jolt, Jolt.

'Doctor! What's happening?' Amy Pond yelled as the TARDIS jolted forwards and backwards haphazardly.

'Yeah! A little knowledge would be great about now!' Rory yelled from the other side of the console before he was knocked off his feet by another jolt.

'I don't know! I'm trying to have a look but she's not being very cooperative!' The Doctor yelled from the console, he was holding onto a red leaver with one hand, and reaching out to the monitor with the other, but every time he got close enough to see, the TARDIS would jolt again, spinning the monitor round.

'Well ask her nicely!' Amy muttered sarcastically, holding tightly onto the metal rails near the door.

Suddenly the ground beneath them stopped moving. Amy immediately jumped up, running to the console,

'Where are we then, Doctor?' she smiled, Rory slowly got up from the floor and walked over.

'I don't know. I think all the jolting broke the monitor! I can't even tell where we are, let alone when.' He jumped backwards, clapping his hands, 'Right, Rory, Amy, stay there! I mean it. Don't move, we could be facing anything out there, an army, aliens, humans, freezing cold, a planet of lava-went there once, place called Exclabay, wonderful planet, great food! Weathers a bit dull though.' He ran to the door, grabbed the handle and turned round, his face sombre. 'I mean it; don't follow me, STAY HERE! I won't be long, just going to check its safe!' and with that he opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him.

Amy jogged to the door, turning to Rory, 'well? Come on, stupid face! We've got an adventure to be had!'

'Amy, I really don't think this is a good idea. He said for us to wait, cant we just wait? What's wrong with waiting?'

'It's boring, come on!' she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the door.

'Amy, he said it could be something dangerous, like an army, or a dangerous planet, or aliens who want to eat us, or-'

'Or Earth?' she laughed, skipping off to follow the doctor, who was facing away from them a few yards ahead, sonicing the air.

'Come along Ponds!' he shouted, 'What took you so long?'

They had landed on what looked like an ordinary street, in the 21st century, Earth. There were rows of houses all lined up neatly, each almost identical, but with different doors and colours. They all looked incredibly old. The cars on the street too, weren't in the best condition, a lot looked old, second hand, but they all looked used. It was completely silent. At the bottom of the road she saw a group of young people, around their mid 20s. They started to walk off, round the corner. The doctor sniffed the air, lifting his sonic higher up.

'Something doesn't seem right... it's too old.' he muttered to himself. Looking up he caught site of the group of people, his expression changed and he pelted down the road after them. Amy and Rory both gave each other confused glances before running after the doctor who had just reached the bottom of the old road, and turned the corner. They turned the corner, and stopped in shock. A little ahead they could see the doctor had stopped too. His arm dropped to his side and it hung loosely there.

_Well, _thought Amy,_ this definitely isn't the 21__st__ century._

Back in Leadworth, Amy jolted awake.  
>Right next to her, Rory jolted awake.<br>And outside the TARDIS, down a 21st century road and round the corner, the doctor blinked.

'What the?' he muttered to himself. Turning round, to find no Amy and Rory, but of course, why would he? He hadn't come with them? They were back in Leadworth. But why did he feel like they were just with him? Something weird was going on. And The Doctor was about to get to the bottom of it.


	2. Up and Down

Chapter two: Up and Down.

It was dull. Everything was dull. In colour, and life. Thousands of metal car shaped objects flew ahead in lines, crisscrossing over; mayhem. The sky was dully brown and the clouds were dark, thick and weary. The air was full of smoke and pollution. The Doctor seemed oblivious to the atmosphere and instead stared in awe in the skyscrapers than enveloped them. There were hundreds, all tightly packed and with hundreds and hundreds of floors reaching high up beyond the dirty clouds. They were so tall. It was almost uncanny. It was obviously the future, by the smell and the low tech FAMs (Flying Auto Mobiles) he didn't know when, it could only be somewhere from the 47th century right up until the 65th. He didn't know where they were, or why there was a 21st Century Street tucked away. He looked around for any life, nobody. He looked in search for the group of people they had seen on the bottom of the road, but they seemed to have vanished. Then he saw to the left there was what looked like a lift, moving upwards higher up, beyond the clouds. He ran to it, searching the main frame of the door from top to bottom. He held the sonic to the door, until it started to emit a much higher pitched sound.

'Hmm, that's interesting, very interesting.' He muttered. 'Right, how does this thing work? By the look of it, it seems to be pre-new earth tech, voice command, Telepathy?' Behind him he heard a small giggle, which evolved into a throaty laugh. The Doctor span round to find a dark haired woman standing before him; her dark chocolate eyes looked mid twenties, but her stance and face looked so much older. She was dressed in a filthy brown, bedraggled, baggy top, and some dark gray jeans. They were frayed at the bottom, underneath The Doctor could see some once rich purple converse, now faded and tatty. The woman looked kind, but she didn't look like she had seen light in a long time; her complexion was pale, accentuating her beautifully sad eyes. It was hard to say whether she was attractive, the baggy clothing hung off her, and he face was caked in dust and dirt, her dark hair was shoulder length, it wasn't styled, instead sprouted of her scalp, matted and greasy.

_Who is she? Why is she here? A young woman, all on her own. In the darkness._

The woman laughed again, 'You won't get in by thinking about it, or shouting at it. You're only allowed above if you've got your pass card, and enough credits, see?' she pointed to a slot on the side of the door, 'goes in there, costs 200 credits to get up there, unless you're one of those torchwood lot, or a student, you get here for free... Not a lot of people come down here anyway, only the ones that can't afford to live up there, or the thieves what've been banished. It's quite dangerous down here sir, n' by the looks of it you don't belong here. I'd get back to above before someone robs ya.'

The doctor laughed delighted, 'Ah! 51st century, brilliant! And it is indeed dangerous, but you see, I've, erm, lost my pass card, so I might need your help getting up there.' He grinned cheekily, but he saw her eyes grow dark.

'Do you really think I'd look like this if I came from above sir? I lost my pass card too, 'bout 8 years ago now. Dared to come down here by my friend, went down, then I checked my bag and I'd lost it, couldn't get up. They couldn't get me back up either; you can't use one pass card for two people. I was stuck. Left everything behind; family, friends, love.' She smiled sadly, although it looked more like a grimace.

He frowned, 'well, didn't your family, friends, try and help? Talk to the police? The 51st century's when the policing systems at its best!'

She laughed again, 'Once you lose your pass, you can't get another one, that's the law. You should know that sir! You're acting like you're not from this planet!'

He smiled and turned to face her properly, beneath all the dirt and grime, he could see she was very pretty. 'Never said I was. I'm The Doctor. And I promise you, we will get you back to above, I've got a screwdriver!'

She froze, frowning, 'The Doctor? I feel like, I've heard that, somewhere, before... when I was younger...' she frowned, shaking her head. 'I'm Abbie. And how's a screwdriver going to help us get up there? With the state I'm in I'll just get kicked back down here again.'

'I'll show you!' He smiled, lifting his arm up to the slot, he pointed the sonic screwdriver and it lit up, buzzing. The doors slid open to reveal a blank metal panel as a floor. The doctor poked his head in, looking up; he could see a square tunnel rising higher than anything he'd ever seen. He jumped in, spinning round to face the girl.

'Come on!' He laughed, 'don't look so afraid, it's only a screwdriver!'

'Doctor, we will be killed if we go up there, you can't. It's illegal. We will be shot.' She whispered shivering slightly, looking around in fear.

'We won't, I promise. I won't let anything happen.' He smiled reassuringly but he could tell Abbie felt far from it. He stepped out of the lift, and looked into her eyes, 'I know torchwood. Trust me, I'm The Doctor.' She smiled and nodded, 'okay.' They stepped into the lift. The doors closed behind them, and up they went.


	3. Welcome to Wales

Chapter 3: Welcome to Wales.

The further up the lift got, the more frightened Abbie got. And The Doctor could sense this. By the time they reached the top she was trembling like a leaf. It took about 10 seconds to reach their destination. The lift only had 2 buttons, 'Up' and 'Down'. It was clear by the amount of dust covering the walls and floor, that the lift was hardly used. The lift stopped and the doors slid open.

The streets were filled with people, it was evidently lunch hour, hoards of workers and teenagers rushed to the nearest hovering food stall, some of the younger people, probably students, headed towards the cafes in search of a seat and some food. Now they were higher up, the skyscrapers seemed even taller. Abbie looked around in amazement, last time shed been here they were half the size, she gasped as she saw the shopping skyscraper, where she used to spend all her time, before she was trapped underneath the clouds. She turned to the doctor who wasn't looking at the people, or the skyscrapers, or the sky, but instead looking at the welcome sign that stood a few feet from the lift door.

'We're in Wales!' The Doctor laughed, 'Wales!' he grabbed Abbie's hand and started to run through the crowds, oblivious to the amount of attention they were both attracting.

She yanked on his arm 'Doctor..'

He stopped min run, spinning round wildly, 'What?'

'Everyone's staring at us. They know. Of course they know. Doctor, look at me! I'm going to be killed.' She started to sob, stopping The Doctor in his tracks.

'Hey, hey, you'll be fine, come on. I promise. We're going to go over there, see that shop?' he pointed across the gray paved street to where a clothes shop stood in the middle of one of the many skyscrapers. 'And then, were going to go to that block of flats there, and you can have a shower. And then, were going to go to that very interesting cafe over there and have some food.' He smiled pointing to each skyscraper in turn, and finally pointing out a hovering cafe called 'BBQD'.

She still looked worried, though she smiled and found herself nodding. 'Right then! Geronimo!' he grabbed her hand again and pulled her through the crowds and across the empty roads, nobody used them since FAMs were invented, and so they ran, hand in hand, over to the shopping skyscraper.


	4. Jessica Robinson

Chapter 4: Jessica Robinson.

She walked out of the kitchen, making her way to the front door of the flat. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, she smiled. Her hair was soft, straight and brown. And although it wasn't properly styled, it fell around her face in an elegantly tousled fashion, resting just below her shoulders. Her rich chocolate coloured eyes twinkled in the lampshade light. And her face, although still pale, glowed, a tinge of pink spread across her cheeks as it started to dawn on her; she was finally _home_. She twirled round in her new outfit; mid blue skinny jeans, some brand new deep red converse, and a pale gray vest top. She didn't need a cardigan; it was too warm for that, even though it wasn't sunny. She sighed and proceeded to the front door.

She walked over the road, back to the 'Welcome to Wales, the heart of Torchwood.' sign to meet the doctor, who was waiting impatiently, tapping his shoes on the floor, looking round for any sign of her. She laughed silently, _could that man not keep still for 10 minutes?_ Glancing up he spotted Abbie, his eyes lit up and he ran over to her, eager to get moving.

'Now... about that food' she grinned, turning and pointing to the nearest cafe, 'let's go!' The Doctor beamed at her, and they walked over to BBQD and stepped inside. The cafes interior was not dissimilar to the interior of the flats, and shops. The walls were painted with a white-ish colour, and the table counter, chairs and floor were all made of similar metals. It was impeccably clean, and incredibly busy. The Doctor and Abbie had arrived with a group of teenagers, and a young man and his colleague. Nobody would notice them entering. They sat down on the nearest table, by a window overlooking the streets, opposite the flat where Abbie had got changed. Abbie looked through the menu, deciding what she wanted, looking up, she realised the doctor wasn't looking at a menu.

'Aren't you going to eat?' she asked, putting the menu down.  
>'Nope.' He looked at her, gesturing for her to continue looking at the menu.<br>'Don't you eat?' she laughed, 'I can't possibly eat food you're buying me if you don't have anything!'  
>He looked at her again, this time more intently. He was obviously not listening to their conversation. He blinked suddenly shaking his head. 'What did you say? I started to think. There's something not right about...' he stared at her; his eyes looked as if they could barely see her, like she wasn't even there. He frowned slightly before continuing, 'this place.'<p>

She laughed oblivious to his intent stares, 'You're mad! Now what are you having? You have to go up to the counter to order, this isn't the 23rd century you know!'  
>'Chips, I'll have chips. Chips are cool. Had a friend once, she loved chips.' He looked sad for a moment, then his face snapped into a grin.<br>'ok' she smiled, 'chips it is.' She took his credit card and he watched her walk over to the counter. Something was wrong. It was only an hour ago that he had met such a dishevelled, afraid girl, all alone below the clouds, and now she was so happy, easing back into her life. He frowned in thought. It was too quick. The way she was acting was like she had never had to spend 8 years on her own down there. The way she had taken 10 minutes to shower, dry, and change. Too quick. He bounced up out of his seat and jogged over to her, where she was standing in the Que.

'Abbie, who are you? Where did you come from?'

'Doctor!' she frowned, 'You can't just leave our table, now we won't have anywhere to sit', and she lifted her head up in frustration. She groaned, 'Great. Looks like we're having taken out now.'

He closed his eyes, and hit his forehead. 'No. No. No. No! This isn't right, none of it is! Who are you?'  
>She looked at him, concerned for a moment. 'Abbie, well, my full name is Abigail Marshall, I spent my childhood in-' she cut off, her face a picture of shock and wonder. She was staring just over The Doctors shoulder. Before he had chance to turn round she brushed past him.<br>'Jessica! Is that you?' she exclaimed.  
>'Jessica?' he heard voices mumble in questioning.<br>'Erm, sorry, love, I think you've got the wrong person' he heard a young, female, familiar voice answer.  
>'No! It's definitely you! Jessica Robinson! We knew each other as children, back in the-' Abbie was cut short by the second voice.<p>

'Abigail! Abigail Marshall!' The female voice exclaimed. The Doctor span round, walking over to the table where Abbie stood. He stopped suddenly, staring at the young woman sat between two men, the woman Abbie knew. He couldn't believe it; he would recognise those blonde curls anywhere, even if they were a little lighter than normal. He, however, could only just recognise the young, beautiful face talking to Abbie. He stared in wonder at the woman she had just called Jessica Robinson. She wasn't Jessica Robinson; her name was Melody Pond.


	5. Firsts and lasts

Chapter 5: Firsts and lasts.

He froze, unsure what to do, she was young, very young, 25 maybe, what if this was it? The first time she meets him. It could be his last time. He couldn't bare it. She might not even know who he is? Their time lines were still in flux, her life she's lived now, could only be one possible time line, it could all change depending on what she chooses when she's younger. It was confusing, all timey-wimey. He could easily run away now, before she noticed him. He was always running from the past. But you can't run from the future. He knew that someday soon, he'd meet a version of her, that wouldn't know who he is. Each time they met, she knew him less and less, and for some reason this tore him apart. He didn't know why.

Unfortunately Abbie turned round as he was thinking, she ran over to him, 'That's where I knew your name from! When I was a child-' she was cut off again, this time by River who had noticed The Doctor. Her face matched his exactly, shock. Only in her eyes he saw a flicker of apprehension, which changed to sadness, then realisation. She ran over, abandoning her perplexed friends.  
>'Doctor...hi.' She spoke softly; this was unlike the usual, fighting, wild River Song he knew so well. She was so shy.<br>'Hello Jessica Robinson, or should I say, Mrs. Robinson' He winked  
>She scowled, but laughed, 'You know full well that's not my name, my love.'<p>

He smiled, 'So we've met before?'  
>'Yes.' She whispered, smiling. But the doctor could see there was pain behind the smile.<br>'Well, in that case... if we've met before... umm...' He moved closer to her then backed away, he started fumbling about with his pockets and mumbling to himself, something about time.  
>'Doctor?' River questioned, looking at him in interest, studying his face.<p>

'Ah! Yes sorry! Got a bit caught up in some, pocket issues, they can never be done up right, they're too big, or too small, or maybe they're just bigger on the inside' he started mumbling again and Abbie sighed. 'Right, sorry, so you say you've met me before?' He questioned her curly hair. He couldn't look into those eyes just yet. They made him go all mumbly, he didn't know what it was about her; he just never knew what to do with himself. She always lead everything, but each time she knew him less, the doctor found himself put in uncomfortable situations he'd never been faced with before. And as much as it thrilled him slightly, she always managed to make him feel like an inexperienced teenager; even when he knew her more.  
>'Yes sweetie, we've met before.' She said.<p>

'Yes, rightio, well, umm...' he stepped towards her carefully, placing a hand either side of her head, his left started to explore her curls. How he loved her hair. He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to the right as their lips met, gently at first, but he grew in confidence, he kissed her harder, running his hand through her hair, sliding his hands onto her waist and pulling her closer. She lifted her hand up, round his neck, and then they were in his hair. Her response pleased him now, at first, it seemed like she wasn't expecting it. But they'd met before; they'd done that before, right?

He pulled away, breathless and exhilarated; once again his emotions almost matched hers, only she looked slightly shocked and dazed.  
>'Sweetie?' she questioned.<br>'Yes, River?' he replied, his hearts racing in his chest.  
>'We've never done that before.'<br>His hearts sank. It was her first kiss; meaning it was his last.


	6. The Past

Chapter 6: The past

He stood there, in silence; the world outside his head continued normally, the constant chatter of city goers remained unchanged, the rushing of workers back to the office after a long lunch, the laughter of disobedient children and the anger of frustrated parents. The world continued to work and turn, just as it always did, never stopping, not for anyone. But The Doctor couldn't see anything, and he couldn't hear anything. He could hardly breathe. Everything just stopped.

'Doctor?' He heard Rivers young voice, over and over, gradually becoming more concerned. Suddenly he could see again, the smell of her hair and her hand against his cheek brought him back to reality. It was almost the end for him. _Almost_. And he had no intention of wasting the time left with her, that impossible woman. The Doctor shook his head. Of course, he'd felt emotions before, he'd felt pain, suffering, agony as he watched his own planet, his own people, burn. Love, love for his companions, for Rose. Guilt for those he did not love, but loved him dearly; Martha. And hatred, hatred for hate itself, and for death and for pain; but never in a thousand years, had The Doctor felt quite like he did now. He had never felt so, _human._

He looked up, his eyes watering. He looked at River. Did she even know _what_ she was? Did he? He stared at River. 'Right, Abbie, can we leave you now? You seem to have settled in well, to your life. Me and River, I mean, Jessica have some very important things to do.'

River eyes widened, she frowned her eyes carefully studying the Doctors head. 'Doctor, are you feeling ok? Who's Abbie?'

Now it was the doctors turn to frown. He turned round scanning the cafe, Abbie had gone. But where? 'You know, Abbie, brown hair, converse, Abigail Marshall! You know her! You knew her when you were a child! She was just with us, she must have left or something...' he turned back round to face River. Her face had gone white, her mouth hung slightly agape. Tears formed in her eyes and her bottom lip began to wobble uncontrollably.  
>She stuttered, having difficulty forming words, 'b-w-h-how? How do you know about Abbie?'<p>

The doctor was incredibly perplexed, something strange was going on around here, how could River not remember talking to her childhood friend only a minute ago? 'What?'  
>River stepped back, her hands shook, 'Abbie, Abbie died. When she was 9. When she ran. With me, and you. I was just a child. We were all so impressionable then. How do you even know of her? This is your future, you can't possibly know.'<br>'She was here! Just a second ago! Right before we, um... You know, did the thing, just now, with all the hair and the... other stuff. ' He span round and pointed to the spot where Abbie had been standing, 'She was right there! How can someone with such a brilliant mind like you, forget that? She can't be dead, she was there. Unless, but no, no that couldn't be right, that's impossible, she was right there!' he pointed again as if somehow this action would bring her back.

Turning back to River he studied her face, her body, he grabbed her hand, licked it, and frowned, 'hmm, well at least your real... I think. Wait!' he froze, running over to the window of the cafe, he stared into it, looking at his reflection, and he lifted his own hand to his face, and licked it, making a face.

'Yes, definitely real, most certainly real, real as a banana. Bananas are real, ok, bad example, I'm real like a human and humans are real. Though I'm not human, I'm time lord, real as a time lord... Although I'm the only one, so I guess that makes me less real, the last of the time lords, a myth, myths aren't real, never believe a myth, tried to find a good man once, turned out he was a myth, never existed, just a character created from everyone's imagination, poor Peter, everyone wished he was real. Although, I met another man once, called himself Peter too, acted like a big kid, quite tough, had a girlfriend called Wendy, they played with fairies, storybook fairies are nice, real fairies aren't nice, they're all evil and spiky, never trust a fairy. Fairies bite. It hurts, like when you wake up suddenly from a dream, except you've just woken up because an evil bitey fairy bit you, a fairy stole your dream, and fairy bites are real. I'm as real as a fairy bite!' He paused for a breath and opened his mouth again to continue but it was clamped shut by Rivers.

'Shh now, sweetie, you're rambling. You were a lot quieter last time we met.' The Doctor went red, hanging his head like a scolded puppy. She laughed, 'Doctor, _my _Doctor, I thought I would never see you again.'  
>'And why would you think that, Melody Pond? What happens that first time we meet?' He questioned. His eyes went from grass green to almost barky green. His eyes looked grave, yet his lips were slightly up turned, almost smiling. It was eerie.<p>

She froze, and backed away slightly. Her bottom lip began to tremble once more, this time in apprehension. 'Nobody calls me Melody Pond anymore. Nobody's _allowed_. After... the incident, after you told me my real name, I vowed I would never call myself Jessica Robinson, or Melody Pond ever again. Instead I used the name my birth translated to; River Song. I didn't want to forget who I was, but I couldn't be Melody Pond anymore, she was a killer. I couldn't be Melody Pond, because my imaginary friend hated her. He hated her for what she did, and although my Mummy said he didn't, I could see the pain in her eyes. And suddenly I didn't want to be Melody Pond anymore. I didn't want to be that girl, I wanted to be new and brave and strong. I didn't want him to hate me. I just wanted him to live.'

It suddenly felt as if a blanket of silence had been thrown over the cafe, 'River, who did you kill?' The Doctor whispered.

'Spoilers.' She whispered, her eyes tearing up.

_I was brought up as a weapon, trained to kill. Trained by the church. But it wasn't just me; there were many others, lonely orphans, turned into lonely assassins. Only, they weren't alone, they all fought and killed together, just like they had been taught. I didn't. I was alone. I was trained to kill one man, just one man. But by killing that one man, I could destroy the universe. But nobody ever told me how important that man was to me. Nobody ever said._


	7. A Time Lords mind

Chapter 7: A Time Lords mind.

The Doctor shook with anger, it radiated off him and suddenly he seemed about 10 foot tall, towering over everyone and everything. The raging madman with the blue box. It scared River. She had never seen him this angry, the first time they met, his anger was silent; that was the scariest thing of all.

'River, WHO DID YOU KILL.' he shouted. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She sensed he didn't want to know, he was afraid to know, but she felt compelled to reply, give him something, stop the anger.  
>'Spoilers, Doctor. You'll find out soon. <em>And my love, I'm so sorry.<em>' She trembled slightly as The Doctor started to pace round in frustration.

'You told me I couldn't tell you. You said that the first time we met, before..' she cut herself short.  
>'Oh, of course I did! Well that's just BRILLIANT.' he almost spat the word out.<p>

River could see how distracted he was, she knew she needed to bring him back to topic. 'Doctor, Sweetie, you were talking about Abbie...and then you got... distracted.'

He turned round, facing her for the first time after the range. His face was much softer. 'How could you forget she was just here, we met her, she was young, 27, she had a life, how could that not be real? Well of course it could not be real, that's always possible. But why her? Why now? I'm missing something, something important.' He slapped his forehead, 'THINK! THINK! THINK! What am I forgetting?' his mind raced back through the events of the day, on the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went. But there was something missing, something there that he couldn't see. It was like there was a perception filter on the events, it was there, he could remember, but he couldn't see it. He thought about everything that happened. He started to chant it under his breath.

'On the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went. On the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went. ' He paused for a breath, sighing, 'what can I be missing! River, help me! On the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went... what can I be missing?'

River frowned thoughtfully, her face screwed up as she struggled to identify the problem she would so easily sense but couldn't see. She listened to him chant over and over. She focused on each word. The first time round she realised one of them didn't match. The second time round she realised two didn't match. And the third time round she was trying to figure out which words didn't fit, but she still couldn't tell. The Doctor was right, there was a perception filter on something, something that happened to The Doctor today was being hidden; but what? And why? And how? River wondered what or who could possibly tap into The Doctors mind, obviously something incredibly powerful.

'On the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went.' She whispered to herself, 'what could it possibly be? Two words don't fit, but which ones? I can't see.'

The Doctor suddenly took hold of her face and stared into her eyes, 'River, listen to me, you are the only person apart from me who could see what's not right, your brain is so much more advanced than an ordinary humans, it's like mine, but not enough like mine to be as powerful as me. A Time Lords mind is one of the most powerful mechanisms in the universe, and if something can trick it, it must be very powerful. And that's bad. Very bad. But trust me, you can do this, the perception filters broken down my mental barriers, it's impossible for me to see the anomaly, to see what's missing, but the perception filter around everyone is much, much weaker. Not weak enough for an ordinary human to notice, but for someone like you, River Song, it should be easy. You might struggle at first, your young, you've not been taught. Before you look for the anomaly itself, you need to focus, quietly.' He noticed the customers staring slightly, some chatting, some whispering.

'DID YOU HEAR THAT?' he shouted, 'QUIETLY, you have to be quiet, everyone in here, no noise, either be silent, or get out. This is important.'

A young man with auburn hair stepped forward slightly, in his right hand was the hand of another, a young little girl with red hair, holding tightly onto a light blue teddy. 'Why do we have to be quiet?' He questioned. And then the little girl pointed at The Doctor and looked up at her father, 'Daddy, why is the man wearing a bow tie? Is he getting married like you at mummy did?' she smiled sweetly.

The Doctor let go of Rivers face for a moment, crouching down to the little girl, 'Bow ties are cool.' He said. The little girl looked up at him adoringly and giggled, looking back to her father, who wasn't laughing. In fact, he wasn't even smiling. 'Why do we have to be quiet?' he repeated.

The Doctor stood up, 'Because you do, it's important, I'm trying to save the world here!' The Doctor replied, exasperated. _Humans, _He thought.

The man with auburn hair half laughed, 'You're crazy, absolutely bonkers! Why do you really want us to be quiet?'

The Doctor sighed again, 'Because I'm trying to save the world.'

This time it was Rivers turn to laugh, she turned to face the man, 'He is, honestly.'

The man still didn't look convinced; River smirked, stepped forward just as the doctor did. Her face suddenly becoming serious, as she said,

'Trust him, he's The Doctor.'


	8. Anomaly

Chapter 8: Anomaly.

The Doctor froze, outraged, 'THAT WAS MY LINE!' he cried indignantly. River laughed, shaking her hair out of her eyes, 'Isn't it just, Sweetie.'

The Doctor frowned, sticking his bottom lip out like a child. 'It is my line! You ruined it! I was going to say it! You stole my line! That's not fair.' He dropped his shoulders, acting more and more like a child.

River frowned, 'you're being rather emotional today, Doctor.'

'Yeah, well you would be emotional too if you had people disappearing as if they almost never existed like some kind of twisted crack in space and time! And you met your future-w-oah. You met a woman you who had only met you once before which meant you were probably going to die soon! You would be emotional if you were stuck in the 51st century and you didn't know how to fix anything and you knew you were missing something but there was a telepathic perception filter stopping you from knowing what you missed, and that the only person who could possibly help you didn't even know how to help!' he groaned and plonked himself down on a nearby chair.

'Ok, so you're being very emotional.' She muttered.

'Yes, River, yes I am.' He said, 'Now please, you've got to try to help me. Help me figure out what's missing... my mind is clever, my subconscious must be trying to tell me something, think about everything I've said, river, open your mind, _think_.'

River closed her eyes, her mind started racing at speeds she didn't think were possible, thinking about anything the doctor said that linked, pointing to the anomaly. Anomaly. On the TARDIS, bumpy, Rory fell, Amy laughed, 21st century road, ran down, met Abbie, went up, Abbie changed, went into cafe, met River, Abbie went. Cracks in time and space. Perception filter. Emotion. Laughter. Anomaly; the word echoed in Rivers head, _anomaly_. It sounded like something, something that had happened, anomaly. Bumpy? No. Amy? No. Rory? No. River? No. _Anomaly. _River thought, if there is a perception filter, anything will become a no, The Doctor must know that, that's why he said anomaly. It's got to be whichever two words sound similar to it, even if I think it's a no, they'll be right... Surely? Rivers head hurt, it was too confusing, she was thinking too hard. The Doctor noticed this.

'River, you're over thinking it. Your brains much more powerful than that, you don't need to think. The words will come to you. You just have to stop thinking so hard.' He spoke slowly and calmly.

She stopped thinking, her mind she found, continued to rush around of its own accord, throwing words at her mouth and suddenly she found she was talking, 'Anomaly. Two things. Missing. Not right. Anomaly. Cracks in space and time. Amy. Anomaly. Perception filter. Anomaly. Anomaly's the key. But to what? What sounds like that? What two things. Amy. Anomaly. Rory. Amyandrory! Anomaly, amyandrory! Why aren't they here now, you said they were in the TARDIS with you!' She exclaimed.

The Doctor beamed, 'Oh River Song, you wonderful, wonderful woman.' He stood up and swept her up in a hug, kissing her forehead. 'Right, now you have said that it should of momentarily broken the perception filter giving me just enough time to-aaghrr!' he screamed in pain clutching his head, suddenly the screaming stopped and was replaced by speech once again, 'just enough time for me to build my mental barriers again so they can't get back through' he winced again obviously in pain, 'whoever 'they' are.' He suddenly gasped swaying slightly on his feet.

'Right, let's find out who they are. We need to get back to the TARDIS. River, come with me. They have been tapping into your thoughts, your memories just as well as mine. We need to stop them, I have a theory. I hope I'm wrong, because if I'm right, this is bad. Very bad. Very, very, _very_ bad.'

'What about Amy and Rory?' River asked.

'Amy AND Rory! River! I forgot. This perception filters stronger than I thought. What happened to Amy and Rory? We were in the TARDIS and then we weren't, we walked down a road, and old road, then we turned the corner, and then they were gone. And I forgot, why would I forget? _How_ could I forget? How could I forget my _best friends_?'

River went pale and suddenly quiet; she shook her head before tears could form and stepped ahead of the doctor so he couldn't see her face. They were his best friends. Her parents. _Her mum. Her dad._

Her thoughts were numbed by the notion as she remembered her past. Her childhood. Her Doctor. The death. The murder. The cold blooded murder. Ice ran through her veins in hate and disgust of the woman that made her who she is, what she did. She felt the tears form, prickling and painful. She forced it to stop. She shook her head and focused on the present. Finding her parents, solving the mystery. Saving the world.


End file.
